by P. S. Power
"Sure. Old friends."
"Can you have people report to him? If they want to volunteer. I don't think we should take regular passengers back and forth yet, but in a few days we can start that? Call it four, so that I can make the trip a few times."
It seemed like a plan, and after six hours of running around and helping to make certain everything was working right, they had the whole thing loaded up. Not that they could leave yet, since there was, it turned out, more to come.
Tor and Tim were still working on whatever they had for things.
Terry, however, was there with six large floating cases for various magics, all taller than he was, and cutely enough Taman had a box too. She looked at the stuff that Terry had a bit enviously.
"He's worked really hard, for nearly a year, on all this. I just have some odds and ends. Some of my newest craft, mainly. For people in other places? We... Most of the Builders here are from Noram, and we all tend to forget that this thing has hurt a lot of people. I know it isn't much, but maybe it will help someone?"
Gerent smiled, and felt real tears come to his eyes.
"More than a little, I bet. This is really nice of you, Tam. You too, Terry. Of course we'll probably need twenty times more of everything, so if you two and the rest of the kids can get on that? Food units first. Radiation shields and cleaning things too. Soam and Austra..." He didn't go on, but Terry nodded, understanding why that was. No one even really knew if there was anyone left alive in Soam. Not on their west coastline, at least. It hadn't had a lot of people, compared to some areas, but the bombs had made a lot of it unlivable.
Tim had some devices there to clean things up, but that would take a long time. Decades, at the very least. Wiping his face a bit, he made sure to take the special cases and put them in his own room. It didn't leave a whole lot of space, but it was more than enough for him. Petra... Well, she'd be going back to her real life soon, he thought.
That part was interesting to him. How were you supposed to act, when engaged? Did he need to visit regularly, or was it all basically just the wedding that was needed? He should try to get some advice on that part of things. Really, who he should ask was Patty, since she was brilliant with things like that. Noble things, and protocol. It wasn't kind of him to push at her, with his feelings, like he had been. He understood why she didn't care for him, and it had nothing to do with his looks or even personality.
Just him failing her, being too small and weak. Even being larger now didn't change what had happened there, did it? Nothing ever could. When the bigger, stronger, men had come to take her, all he could do was flail at them weakly. Being raped himself, to shame him, as they took her. As if that could leave him with greater shame than letting them touch her? That she didn't hate him for not doing what he was supposed to was probably more than he deserved.
There was a buzzing from his pocket, which made him slap at it, shocked. He hadn't been ready for anything like that. The new communications units did that, as their default state. Tiera had explained it to him, before he tucked the thing away, to play with later, if he ever had time. Apparently he had that just then, according to whoever wanted his attention. His guess would be Tiera, checking to make certain he could make it work, but it wasn't her at all. It was Patty. Her face showed on the front of the thing, moving and looking at him, seeming happy.
"There you are! Tim just got finished, and wants to get things moving here. New large scale food units. Lots of them. I don't know if Tor is around yet, but I'll go check on him. We should be there in... Call it fifteen minutes? Timon said that he wanted to talk to you? Um... I do too, if you... I know that you may not want to. That's fine, but... I don't want to lose you as a friend, Ger." She seemed to be holding her breath, and he didn't know what to say. He didn't want to let her go either, but holding on to a person that didn't want you was madness.
"Sure. That should be all right. I won't be leaving for a while. Oh! I... That man, that came with us, Ridley Dens? Is he going back do you think? Or... How would you know, right? I'll check with Captain Debri. Thanks. I... I missed having you with me, Patty." That was as close as he could let himself come to saying he loved her. It was probably too much.
"Me too. Still, at least now I get to see you every few days. You can stay over too? I know that everyone expects you to live here, at least part of the time. Petra was shocked by that, since it means she's included. I still can't believe that she landed you. That's a real score. Not that she isn't a peach, but I would have figured that you'd end up-" She didn't say anything else, and he understood why that was.
It had always been what he'd thought, too.
"Alone? I know, it's a change up! Caught me off guard. Anyway, thanks for letting me know what's going on. I'll be at the entryway." That required running, since the ship had been made almost full size, which was about a quarter mile long. It wouldn't have been that bad, but he got lost. On his own ship. The layout was a little different than a Space Fleet vessel, so it took about five minutes longer than it should have to get into place. Tim was already loading everything, a long train of floating cases following him. There was no sense that he realized Gerent was in the loading bay, until the last box was in place. They looked like shipping containers made of wood, and shaped to go into the back of a wagon.
That was what he was thinking when Tim looked at him, drawing the outline of a box in the air.
"They fit in the back of Taman's new craft. Two of these will. I have a loading key for it. Once you leave the area they'll just be boxes though. Here." It was a complex thing with a lot of lights, but it was pretty easy to use, once explained. You just tapped the crates you wanted, and then basically thought about what you needed each one to do.
Then the boy looked at him, almost dead in the eye, being that they were both that tall now. Both dangerously thin, too. Timon was actually shorter, by a bit. Growing like a real person, not catching up all at once. He waved a bit, which had some secret meaning, no doubt, but Timon explained, smiling, knowing that he wouldn't understand what he meant otherwise.
"The new food units make more things, including whole products. Bread, cheese, yogurt, milk, that kind of thing. Different fruits and all that. About a hundred in all. A hundred and eight, to be exact. Otherwise they work the same way. I labeled things in each of the main languages by the correct sigil. They don't make containers, but if you put one in the production hopper, it will fill it accurately." There was a tired look, which meant the boy had worked with no sleep for days to get this done, he didn't doubt. They all did that kind of thing.
"This is an amazing effort. All I brought were some plants. Which got taken somewhere, but..."
"Heh! I heard about that! There are already teams volunteering to care for each plant. We should try seeds up here, if we can get them. Some people have gotten things to work, so it isn't impossible or anything. So... Petra Ward?" He grinned and then shook his head a little. "She's one of my favorite people, you know."
They moved back, into a far corner of the loading bay. The boy was a man now, married, and if only fourteen, that would have made him legally capable of owning his own home in Noram. He'd done it earlier than that, but everyone was considered an adult at that age. That meant he had a right to know, didn't it? For a moment Gerent considered just not mentioning anything about it to him. There wasn't a lot that Tim could do to help. Not this time.
"Petra... When Count Rodriguez held her, his men... they... Didn't just torture her."
Gerent didn't know what kind of response to expect, but what he got was calm, collected, and reasoned. The younger man just stood, and nodded a few times, his face placid and calm. Meditative. Probably from all the work that he'd been doing.
"She lied about that, to prevent her family from declaring all out war?'
Gerent nodded, not even amazed that Timon had gotten to that point already. He was one of the smartest people. If not the most intelligent. Not a lot got past him.
"That's right. So Colle
tte and a few of the others, Counts and Countess's, we're going to find the guardsmen that did that and punish them." He didn't add how, but Tim got that one, he bet, even if the others all thought that it was going to be taking heads.
It was going to be different than that, if he had his way. Which he would, even if it meant doing it all himself.
"What do you need me to do? I can add magical support. I have some funds there still, just building up. Or, I can call on King Richard, using the new device that Terry is giving him? Has he been informed of this, yet?"
"Yes. He's part of it." That might have been a little bit too strong a characterization, but Tim understood that.
"That's about all that can be done. That, and unmanning Count Rodriguez. The old one, not his heir, unless he had something to do with this?" There was a look then that was far too hard for fourteen.
"Not that I've heard. I'll check into it. I... Don't know if I can get that part done. He'll likely be dead first. The rebellion..."
Timon stared at him for a long time and then shook his head, slowly.
"You can handle them. Go and explain this to them, and describe what you have planned. They'll give their blessing. No one wants their wife or daughter treated that way. It was foolish of the man. He probably didn't order it, but allowing that to take place... He should have known to control for that kind of thing. Well, handle it. I'd do it, but I can't."
"Because of me." He felt guilty, but there was a soft slap on his arm, along with a somber expression.
"Brother, it was my device you used, at the behest of many of those that were killed that day. I was simply saying that this time it can't be me. Anyone not realizing that you're a force to be reckoned with... My guess is they soon will."
That didn't seem too likely, but he patted the boy back, a slap to the arm in return. Manly. Big.
"Patty said that she wanted to talk to me about something. Any clues?"
There was a soft smile then.
"Sure, a lot of them. I don't think I'll give you all of it. Here's one though, she's going to be the spy master for Noram someday, and isn't planning to lose her contacts, so anyone she wants you to talk to is probably a spy. Just because you might need to know this, I'm taking over the Assassins Guild. If a person from the Sorvee Merchant house comes to you for help, please do so with minimal questions. Not everyone has the resources that you do."
Gerent didn't let anything show on his face. The truth was, he'd always figured that the Guild was a tall tale, meant to amuse the masses. To give them a glimmer of hope. A way to make it seem that a corrupt Baron or Knight might be made to pay, if they got too bad. That normally didn't happen, so it wasn't really true. Unless it was. Which seemed to be what Tim was suggesting to him.
Timon Baker could lie. Probably better than he could, and Gerent was an old master at the craft. This didn't seem like that however, so instead of waiting for the punch line to be delivered, he changed the topic. It was either true or not, and if it ever came up, he'd probably help a powerful merchant anyway, just to make friends.
Still, after Timon chatted with him about how things had been going and made a regular time for them to visit, each mid-week, if only by communications unit, he wandered out of the ship through the open back section. That meant he was just standing there when Tor arrived, Petra and her mother beside him, Patty just behind, looking nervous.
That wasn't something she normally did, but it was definitely about him. She kept looking at Gerent, and then away, her head tilting downward. Her hair was a deep brown in tight curls, and her eyes a cornflower blue that reminded him of crystal.
Luckily, before too many negative things could come to mind, Tor distracted him. He was actually shorter than Gerent now, he realized, by nearly two inches, and the man bowed to him before winking.
"Gerent! Sorry about making you late. I know that you wanted to get things moving fast. Still, here you go." There were several boxes behind him, floating. They weren't very big at all, but there were seven of them.
They were a nice purple color, but he didn't know what to make of them, really. Each one could have been easily held in both his hands. Comfortably even. Finally he just shrugged.
"Thank you? They're very pretty boxes. Not as good as my pet box, of course, but it's hard to hold a candle to Boxy." It was a strange thing to say, but Tor was clearly in a trance state and barely seemed to register the words. He did that, at times. All the wizards did.
It made them seem distant and weird, but no one said anything about it, since they were also powerful. Tor nodded, probably reading his thoughts.
"These are part of a nano cloud, which will judge the weather all over the Earth. The Austrans have techniques to be able to tell what will happen, weather wise, if they have enough measurements. This will get those for them. Better than what they had before. There are interfaces too. If you open one box in each land, that should give good coverage. Then just take the readers to Austra and explain the idea. They can hook the units into their computers. It should work."
"Got it! Magic for Austra. Open a box in each land. Take them the amulets for their comps."
There was a slow nod.
"Close enough. Computers, but they'll get the idea from the hookups. So, how are things going back home? No one really tells me much, anymore."
Gerent snapped his fingers, and pulled out the last piece of paper he had. It wasn't a letter, since those had all had been taken away earlier, for delivery. It was just a folded sheet of paper.
"A list of things that Debbie needs for her shop? I can pick that up in a few days, if you can have it ready?"
There was a strange look on Tor's face, and then he shook his head, slowly. For a moment Gerent wondered if was going to refuse to help, but then he just rose in the air and floated off, a lot faster than a man could have run.
Petra grinned and the Dowager Countess watched him leave carefully. When he was all the way out of sight, she turned to her daughter and sighed.
"He's filling out nicely, isn't he? Not so short anymore." Her eyes still lingered on where he'd been, for a long time. When she finally refocused it was on him, not the door. "So, Laurali Lairdgren does wish the ceremony to be held here. Petra was saying that you should be able to bring everyone else... Which I must say this does look like. I saw your new vessel from outside, through the windows. I dare say you have room! It's a very impressive gift that Queen Tiera bestowed on you. Nearly as grand as what the rest of them have managed for Earth."
Patty stepped forward, and cleared her throat a little.
"Hey, not to be indelicate, but I don't think I get a lot more time with Gerent here. Would... I don't want to steal him from you, Pet, but... I haven't seen him in nearly a year." Her words sounded a little stressed, which, he understood a bit more now.
She would need him to deliver some message or something. Like Tim said. Spy master for the entire land. It... Part of him wanted to wonder about her intentions the whole time they'd traveled together, he wasn't important or anything, but... Well, he'd been sort of claiming to be the Wizard Tor, or at least the Troll of Galasia. Had she just been there to stop him? If so, she'd done a horrible job of it. Come to think of it, he knew that wasn't the case. Tor had told him, when they first met, that he'd known about the false claim to his power, and hadn't cared. He wasn't the sort to be jealous over things like that.
Names and titles didn't mean much to a man that could make things appear out of the ether, did they?
The other two women looked at her, skeptically. Probably assuming theft or kidnapping as being the actual plan.
Finally however, Petra shrugged.
"I can understand that. We'll go and find our rooms. Near the bridge?" Because she knew how to find that, from Sara's ship.
"That sounds good. I have the first one, but you can shove in there, or next to it? If you want, I mean. There isn't a lot of space right now. In my room. Filled with packages for delivery. Try to save a space near there for um...
High Servant Erid. He's helping out." It occurred to him that if people were going to do that, he needed to get the food units out and ready for them.
Petra nodded, and both the very tall women walked away. Her mother was taller, but Petra would probably end up about the same, which was nearly what Gerent was, at the moment. There was still some action going on, with people traipsing in and out, some waiting outside the back hatch, for some reason.
Waving a hand in that direction, at the twenty or so people there, Patty turned, so they couldn't read her lips.
"Your new helpers, I bet. I won't be long. Just two things. First, could you get something to my parents for me? Just a letter. I know, everyone has one for you, but..." She looked hopeful, and given that if she'd asked for his right hand, he would have seriously considered cutting it off, he just held out his hand to take it. That was a lot less messy.
"Naturally. What's the other thing?" He waited for her to ask him to spy for her, or deliver a person in the night, but she looked away and then leaned in, kissing him warmly, on the mouth. She didn't stop after the first moments either, not even after he started kissing her back.
When she finally did, she held him, arms locked tight around his middle.
"I didn't forget you. Not even for a moment." Her words were perfect, but he had to think for a while, and she didn't seem to want to let him do that, her face saying that he'd better respond quickly, if he didn't want to insult her.
"I always think of you. Too much, if you need the truth. I tried not to, but that didn't work all the time." Then he kissed her again, knowing that he might never be allowed to again. If Tor wasn't going to let Ali sleep with him, because of him being an adopted brother, Timon might well do the same. It would be fair, and everything. She was his wife, and in some parts of the world, like where Tim had come from, that meant more than in others. City folk were often more understanding that way, with a husband or wife taking a lover or two over the years, without anyone batting an eye. Nobles practically insisted that their spouses not bog them down with too many demands on their time that way. The country people were strict though, in some places. Lairdgren was like that, outside of the major cities. Thomson too. Down the coast, into Harris, or Ford, things were different.